Today In Horse Meat: Feed It To The Poor, One In Three Americans Say

How much does it cost to buy and take care of a horse? Estimates range from $5,000 for an average horse to over $100K for a fancy Rafalca horse, which makes it quite clear: one must be fairly well-off to own a horse, and trot it about with your country club pals, yes. As for eating it, pish! Let the destitute gnaw on Rafalca’s bones.

Indeed, a recent YouGov survey done in the aftermath of the European horse scandal found that 32% of Americans would give horse-meat tainted burgers to the poor, were they to find horses in their burgers. And a mere 13% of respondents would be okay with eating horse, compared to a whopping 87% who have no problem eating beef. We Americans really love our horses and, perhaps to a lesser degree, the poor.

This falls in line with suggestions from German politicians Hartwig Fischer and Dirk Niebel. Their proposal has been met with significant debate, as not only is it controversial to give people food that others do not want (another 30 percent of respondents thought that the food should be thrown out), but it is also likely illegal to give out food products in which the ingredients might not all be known.

Screw laws! This proposal is highly sensible! After one has spent yeeeeears grooming their beautiful horses, teaching them to jump over fences and chase after foxes and prance to the Dances With Wolves soundtrack, there is not much one can do with one’s beloved, companion, therapy horse — except for feeding it to a homeless veteran. This is what’s known in the Romney household as “charity work.” (Zing.)